izigame.me

EDIT 2: On the roadmap, theyre adding Dome passages, better UI, and more automation. Jesus Christ be praised!
EDIT 1: Still a fun game and still recommended. However I would like to be able to connect domes via tunnels as a proper way of moving people around and create Domes that interact with each other in more meaningful ways. As of now interaction is limited to Drones moving resources and Shuttles moving resources or people but only if they need relocate. It would be nice if Domes can help each other more directly, like a Science Dome connected to a Gaming Dome with some diners and grocers to fill the Scientists interests. And have those 2 connected to a mostly residential dome with lots of parks. We still have a dome ecosystem, but we can connect them to grow it even more. And if you want to have a solitary Dome that sustains itself you can still have that.
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Colony Management:

It is sad that the first few hours of the game left a bitter taste in people's mouths. I believe late game is where the fun is at in Surviving Mars but everyone's frustration with early game colonist management is not without merit
When you first bring your colonists from earth you have a choice to pick Geologists, Medics, Security, etc. or just your Average Joe. Obviously everyone (myself included) thought it would make sense to pick colonists with job titles, they give a bonus to productivity when assigned to their respective jobs. However It won't take you long to realize that the game doesn't even give you simple interface to assign your colonists to their desired positions.
It is possible to assign a colonist to a specific job or house without late game tech..
In the Hotkeys section bind

Assign Job
Assign Residence

This literally solves the early game problem of getting your colonists to do the right jobs. No more Medics working at the tje factory nonsense or playing lottery High Priority setting on the info panel hoping that only the Geologist moves to the extractor and not the Geologis+Botanist.
The Dome system is designed to have a balance between population, jobs and housing. When you build a new dome with 32 vacant jobs, you need to have least 32 residential slots so no one becomes homeless or unemployed when they move in.
When specializing your colonists, a late game bldg, the Mars University, automatically trains your regular colonists to fill specialized jobs your Colony needs. If you have 22 Engineering slots available in your entire colony, the Uni will train 22 Average Joes into Engineering Joes. I only build the University when I have Shuttles because your colonists will take a ride between domes, study, and then will fly back out to fill the correct jobs across your ENTIRE colony. Very neat.
You can also isolate specific jobs to specific domes, via the Filter panel to create Engineering domes for Electronics, Biologist domes for farms, Scientists for research, etc. Maybe they should have disabled Specializations early game and have it unocked at the same tier ad the University...

Replayability:

During the (early) late game at around 100+ Sols, the game unlocked Mysteries which is supposed to be the story mode for your playthrough. These come in Easy, Normal and Difficulty mode based on your settings during game creation. I was only able to complete the 2nd step of my Easy mystery before the colony died to hunger and hypothermia.
I think the game revolves around the mid to late game Breakthrough's and Spires. There are different builds that you can use to get into the super late game depending on your RNG. I started a new Colony right after my 150 Sol Colony died and it s just not possible to play the same way you did before.


Traits/Dome Filters/Spires

These mostly go unnoticed unless you mouse over and read the tooltips to see what effects they have. If you choose to you can make very specific Domes to compliment traits to improve happnies. Hanging Garden Spire Biologist Farms with lots of parks is perfect for Hippies. Geologists like to Drink so it might be a good idea to mix them with Alcoholics and build a Spacebar to fulfill both's needs. You can Filter a Medium Dome for Unspecialized Colonists only, build a Shuttle, University and a Behavioral Treatment Spire and send out "Flaw"less Specialists to man your entire colony.

Different stages of the game imo

- Early Game: Scan sectors, spam sensor towers, look for a "main base" for the mid game, try to survive (maintenance costs means you are on a timer)
- Mid Game: Set up produciton lines, stock up, be at a surplus, build fail safes/redundancies in your power/air/water supply, be profitable (Rare Mineral deposits)
- Mid Game (Late): Build University/train colonists or specialize in uneducated colonists research, have a good shuttle/drone system
- Late game (Early): Build/research bigger Domes, have enough food and materials to sustain your pop/repair allyour buildings
-Late game (Mid): Mystery / Wonder
I wasn't able to finish my Mystery. I tried to simultaneously build a Medium Dome while doing my Mystery requirements and my funding and repair materials ran out. First my Factories went down, followed by my Farms, Grocers, Diners, Refineries. Rockets we're grounded without fuel, without water, with broken drones and shuttles unable to resupply. Colonists got hungry and left the planet or stayed and froze to death or commited suicide. Survivors tried to run to the nearest dome but ran out of air along the way.
Pros
- Cute graphics
- Gameplay gets better the longer you play, challenging
- Fun Mid-Late game with plenty of replayability,
- High tier unlocks (e.g. University, Sanotarium, Clone Factory, Resurrection) and other technologies that make your life easier (Shuttles <3)
- Combine your research/breakthroughs/spires and experiment with each dome
- Excited for mods/future additions. New services, textures, skins, darker nights, outdoor tourism, etc.
- Sense of pride and accomplishment when your Dome experiment comes through
Cons
- No tutorial
- Ability to Assign Colonists to Jobs and Houses or Assign Drones to Hubs is hidden in the Hotkeys section
- Could use scroll highlight or an easier way to select mutliple drones
- Need more modules. Similar to how modders added a lot of goodies to Cities: Skylines
- Steep learning curve, plenty of information on the info panel but mouseover/tooltips can go unnoticed.
- Vewing at different angles is as smooth as using Google Earth. NEEDS a follow unit camera so you can take in the beautiful Martian view

Scanned the entire map. Is that it? Really??

I don't know what triggers the 2nd wave of research anomalies but in my playthrough it occured around Sol 100, I had just unlocked my Mystery quest, and had the entire map completely scanned. Suddenly Breakthroughs started popping up everywhere. I assumed this was the point where choose which way to "branch" out, aka decide what you want to build to get to the late game Wonder.
There's a research that makes your colonists immune to suicide so you can put them in 24 hour slave-labor dome with people with the Religious trait and they'll never commit suicide from going insane.
I got a research that resurects colonists when they die. I went with this in my Sol 150+ playthrough with a Clone Factory Spire to make a Dome that works my clones to death, be resurrected, work, and die again. Hilarious.
Survival aspect is there, along with logistics, city planning, design, and resource management that comes with building games